Role of Dermatoglyphics as a Diagnostic Tool in Dentistry

Dermatoglyphics isthe art and science of the study of surface markings and patterns of ridges on the skin of the fingers, palm, toes and soles. Dermatoglyphican alysis is proving to be as extremely useful tool for preliminary investigations into conditions with a suspected genetic basis.Over the past centuries, dermatoglyphics has evolved as a useful tool in the field of genetics, anthropology, biology, medicine and dentistry. Apart from their use for personal identification, the current state of medical dermatoglyphics is such that association between fingerprint patterns and various conditions such as diabetes mellitus, kidney diseases, hypertension, psychosis, breast cancer, alcohol embryopathy, epilepsy, congenital heart diseases and many others has been established. Recently, recognition of specific fingerprints among patients with periodontitis, dental caries, malocclusion, potentially malignant disorders, oral squamous cell carcinoma and congenital anomalies like cleft lip and palate has drawn attention of investigators to the field of dental dermatoglyphics. This article discusses about the history and embryogenesis, patterns of dermatoglyphics and the applications of dermatoglyphics in diagnosing several oral disorders. It also highlights the usefulness of dermatoglyphics as a diagnostic tool for many conditions in the field of dentistry.